Thomas Harris

Thomas Roger Harris born March 28, 1931, died at age 92 on November 20, 2023.

Born in Roswell, NM, to Ollie (Avery) and Oliver Harris, Tom graduated from Bonners Ferry High School in Naples, Idaho, in 1949. After graduation, he went to work for the US Forest Service in Naples before serving as Army Company Clerk during the Korean War. When he returned from abroad, he used the GI Bill to finish his degree at the University of Idaho, where he graduated with his Bachelor’s of Science in Geology. From there, Tom joined the US Bureau of Reclamation working on the Columbia Basin Project where he met his future wife Margaret (Peggy) née Stephens, whom he loved until her death in February, 2023. While they lived in Ephrata, WA, Tom and Peggy welcomed their four children. Tom moved onto Bureau projects in St. George, UT, then Blythe, CA, before settling for a few years in Auburn, CA. Tom then worked for the Army Corps of Engineers in Fredericksburg, VA. From there, Tom returned to the Bureau of Reclamation on the Oahe Project in Huron, SD. Tom moved back east for a short stint with the Department of Energy Office of Surface Mining in Charleston, WV, before returning to the Bureau of Reclamation, working on the Closed Basin Project in Alamosa, CO, where he retired in 1986.

Tom was preceded in death by his wife, parents, brothers Howard, Oliver, John and Kenneth and sisters Susan and Francis, and infant son Brian Keith. Tom is survived by his three living children, Tanya Harris and son-in-law Dana Nelson, Eric Harris, and Jennifer (Harris) and son-in-law Doug Lentz, six grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Family will gather for interment at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery on Friday, March 22 at eleven o’clock in the morning. Donations to the Alzheimer’s Association may be sent in lieu of flowers.